News

EDITORIAL

April 3, 2017

California’s justice system has an inequality problem that is so obvious, so glaring, that a wide-ranging coalition of legal advocates — from civil liberties organizations to the California chief justice — have come together to change it.

It’s the bail system.

The idea behind the cash bail system was that a defendant awaiting trial who had given the court a large sum of his or her money would be less likely to skip town.

SACRAMENTO – Legislation by Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, that protects consumers who sign up for a free trial with an automatic renewal for a service that comes with a charge today passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In addition, SB 313 requires businesses to make it just as easy for consumers to cancel the arrangements as it was to sign up for them. The bill directs businesses to notify consumers three-to-seven days before they are charged for an automatic renewal, and it requires businesses to obtain a consumer’s stand-alone authorization for the renewal.

All California counties would have to offer an alternative to cash bail under details of a bill that two Democratic lawmakers are revealing Monday.

The proposal, first announced by Assemblyman Rob Bonta and Senator Bob Hertzberg in December, is sure to set up a big legislative fight in the Capitol. In interviews with KQED News, both lawmakers said they are aiming to make the criminal justice system more effective and fair by ensuring that jails aren’t packed with people awaiting trial who simply couldn’t afford to post bail.

State lawmakers have unveiled an ambitious plan to reform how counties in California set bail for defendants while they wait for their cases to be resolved or go to trial.

New language added Friday to bills by Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) and Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) would prevent criminal defendants from having to post money as a condition of release from jail and would shift some power from judges to pretrial services agencies to assess the risks they would pose if allowed out in the community.

The Child Hunger Prevention and Fair Treatment Act establishes a process to tackle school lunch debts without publicly embarrassing kids

March 15, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Legislation by Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, to stop schools from publicly shaming or embarrassing students by either denying them lunch or providing a snack instead because their parents haven’t paid lunch fees passed the Senate Education Committee today.

SB 250 ensures that school officials do not delay or deny food to hungry students as punishment for unpaid school meal fees, and it directs schools to establish a process for notifying their families about unpaid fees and collecting them.

“I thank Governor Brown for stepping up to take leadership on this important matter. The recent rains and flooding have highlighted California’s need to upgrade its aging infrastructure and prepare more thoughtfully for the future.

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit can save low-income families up to $6,269 on their tax returns

February 21, 2017

VAN NUYS – In a quest to improve the finances of thousands of struggling families and stimulate economic development in the city of San Fernando, Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, is announcing a new partnership to encourage all low-income residents to take advantage of free state and federal tax preparation services offered by accounting students from California State University, Northridge (CSUN).

Bill establishes a process for oil companies to fund the program and for regulators to review plans, ensure positive environmental benefits result

February 17, 2017

SACRAMENTO – In a bid to jump start California’s six-year-old rigs-to-reef program, Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, introduced legislation today that establishes a clear process for how the program will be funded by oil companies and how the state will decide whether to turn decommissioned oil rigs into artificial reefs instead of fully removing them from the ocean.

Under SB 440, state taxpayers will be able to continue donating some of their refunds to cancer research through 2024

February 16, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, has introduced legislation to extend tax checkoffs for cancer research through 2024, ensuring that Californians can mark boxes on their state tax returns to help fund the search for a cure to the dreaded disease.

The California Breast Cancer Research Fund and the California Cancer Research Fund are two of the 19 tax checkoff funds that presently appear on tax returns, but they will disappear after 2017 without legislative action. Checkoffs must be renewed every seven years to remain on tax returns.

SACRAMENTO – Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, has introduced legislation that allows consumers to sign up for a free trial without agreeing to an automatic renewal for the service that comes with a charge.

In addition, SB 313 requires businesses to make it just as easy for consumers to cancel the arrangements as it was to sign up for them. The bill directs businesses to notify consumers three days before they are charged for an automatic renewal, and it requires businesses to obtain a consumer’s separate authorization for the renewal.